On Sunday, June 9, India and Pakistan clashed once again in a World Cup contest. As is the usual norm, India defeated Pakistan, this time by 6 runs, thanks to brilliant bowling by Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh keeping his cool at the end. While most of the reactions from Pakistan after the defeat focused on their own team’s pathetic performance, former Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal chose this moment to mock Sikhs instead.
On a show on ARY News, where Kamran Akmal was a guest, he took a jibe at Arshdeep Singh and said even though Arshdeep’s rhythm isn’t looking good but ’12 baj gaye hain’, another co-panelist joined in and said no Sikh should be allowed to bowl at 12 o’clock.
Notably, this ’12 baj gaye hain’ is an insult directed towards Sikh community in the illiterate part of the world. The implication of the insult is that Sikhs don’t behave normally when the clock strikes 12. It is a sort of discrimination against a religion, it is offensive to them, and mostly, it is downright hateful most of the time.
Arshdeep Singh, in his last over yesterday, gave away only 11 runs and picked the wicket of Imad Wasim, sealing victory for India. Maybe Kamran Akmal saw it coming so started badmouthing Arshdeep before he bowled that last over.
Notably, Kamran Akmal is suspected to have fixed several cricket matches during his career. He used to drop simple catches for fun, much to the frustration of his own team’s bowlers. His drops of Ross Taylor in 2011 Cricket World Cup got us one of the most exhilarating knocks in ODI World Cup history as Taylor capitalised on all the chances. And who can forget the Sydney Test of 2010 where Kamran Akmal missed more chances than the number of times Pakistan Army has engineered a coup in the country.
This mocking of Sikhs by Kamran Akmal and his fellow panelists once again highlights how minorities are seen and treated in Pakistan.